Lakers hold off Jazz to earn 4th straight win

SALT LAKE CITY — After a rare four days off in between games, the Lakers having an abundance of energy to start Sunday’s road game against the Utah Jazz wasn’t surprising.

But the time since last Tuesday’s road win over the Jazz in Los Angeles helped bring to light what the Lakers needed to focus on to prevent another explosive scoring half from Utah after the Jazz had 71 points in the opening two quarters of the previous matchup.

More discipline off the ball defensively; being more physical from the jumpnot making up how they were going to defend Utah’s off-ball movement as they went, and sticking with the initial game plan.

The Lakers showed improvement in these areas, helping them hang on to beat the Jazz 108-106 at Delta Center to improve to 12-4 on the season despite Utah’s late comeback attempt.

Led by Luka Doncic (33 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and three steals), the Lakers led at the end of each quarter and had a 105-94 lead with 3:33 remaining.

And the Jazz (5-11) kept chipping away, eventually cutting their deficit to one (107-106) after a 3-pointer from Lauri Markkanen (20 points and seven rebounds) with 41.3 seconds left, with the Lakers only making one shot in the final 3½ minutes.

Doncic split a pair of free throws with six seconds left to put his team up 108-106, with the Lakers getting the final stop to secure the narrow victory for their fourth consecutive win.

Austin Reaves finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.

LeBron James, playing in his second game since being sidelined to start the season with sciatica, recorded 17 points, eight assists and six rebounds in 34 minutes.

Rui Hachimura (13 points and six rebounds) also scored in double figures.

Starting center Deandre Ayton (two points and three rebounds in 14 minutes) didn’t play in the second half and was ruled out of the game during the third quarter because of a right knee contusion. It wasn’t immediately clear after the game how Ayton suffered the injury.

The Jazz were led by 27 points, eight assists and five rebounds from Keyonte George.

The Lakers will host the Clippers on Tuesday in their third NBA Cup game.